Bridge for rail ends.



No. 762,607. PATBNTED JUNE 14, 1904.

E. B. BALDWIN. BRIDGE FOR RAIL ENDS. APPLIOATIOK FILED JAN. 26, 1904.

no MODEL.

Inv ento 11 T Vi'i' n Tia M UNITED STATES Patented June 14, 1904.

ELMER E. BALDWIN, or CONNEAUT, OHIO.

BRIDGE FOR RAIL ENDS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 762,607 dated June 14,1904.

Application filed January 26, 1904. Serial No. 190,684. (No model.)

To (all 1072,0777, it Tim/y concern.-

Be it known that I, E MER E. BALDWIN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Conneaut, in the county of Ashtabula and State of Ohio, haveinvented a certain new and useful Improvementin Bridges for Rail Ends,of

which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings.

The object of this invention is to provide in a very simple andefiicient and easily-applied form a bridge for the meeting ends ofrailwayrails to prevent their being battered down by the trains passingover them. I accomplish this by insetting in the adjacent ends of therails a bridge-piece which allows the expansion and contraction of therails, but always spans the gap between them. This bridgepiece hasshoulders resting upon the fish-plates.

The invention comprises such construction broadly and the moreparticular embodiment of it herein shown and hereinafter described.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation, and Fig. 2 is a plan, ofportions of a pair of rails, showing their meeting ends with mybridge-piece in place, and also the free end of one of the rails beforethe bridge-piece is applied. Fig. 3 is a cross-section through the railand bridge-piece, being taken on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is aside elevation, and Fig. 5 an edge view, of the bridge-piece alone.

Referring to the parts by letters, A represents the railroad-rails,having the usual base a, web a, and ball or flange a Drilled verticallythrough the ball, the Web, and the base is an opening a. This opening ismade by a cylindrical drill and in the ball and base of rail makes apartially-cylindrical opening intercepted by the end of the rail. Thediameter of the drill is greater than the width of the web a, whereforethe web is entirely cut through, as shown at (6* in Fig. 1. The meetingends of two rails when drilled, therefore, present at the top and bottomof the rail an opening which has a cross-section similar to a figure 8.Within this opening is placed my bridge-piece B. This bridge 'piece hasits central portion 6 flattened and of the same width as the web ofthe-rails. Above and below this central portion are a pair of roundedbosses Z) 7) I1 7f, these bosses being so shaped as to jointly occupythe 8-shaped openings referred to.

(1 represents the usual fish-plates, which may be flat bars orangle-irons or of other form, as desired. .They are held to the rails bythe usual bolts D, having nuts (Z. The fish-plates bearing against thewebs of the rails thus bear also against the flatten ed central portion7) of the bridge-piece. The shoulders 5 between the bosses 7/ and theflattened portion of the bridge-piece thus rest on the upper edges ofthe fish-plates, which thereby receive the downward stress which theweight of the passing train gives to the bridge-piece. The shoulders 7)"between the lower bosses 72 and the flattened portion' of thebridge-piece engage the under edges of the fish-plates, which thusprevent the bridge-piece from be ing accidentally forced upward out ofplace.

In order to allow the movement of the rails toward and from each otheras they expand or contract, the bosses on the bridge-piece are notperfectly cylindrical, but are somewhat oblate, preferablyengaging withreasonable snugness the side portions of the 8-shaped opening, butclearing the end portions and also the intermediate inwardly projectingwalls near the ends of the rails. This allows sufficient play forexpansion and contraction and at the same time makes a moderately tightfit.

The bridge-pieces may be very cheaply constructed by being rolled in acontinuous bar, which is then cut up and the flat portions 7) machinedthereinto.

I claim 1. The combination of a pairof railroad-rails having meetingends and a bridge-piece set into the faces of said rails and flush withthe upper surface thereof, and fish-plates for said rails upon the upperedges of which said bridge-piece rests below the balls of the rails,substantially as described.

2. A pair of rails having openings through the web and ball, and abridge-piece occupying said openings and having a portion alining withthe web of the rail and thereabove a Wider portion occupying the balland presenting a shoulder, combined with a fishplate secured to the websof the rail and engaging said shoulder, substantially as described.

3. The combination,with a pair of rails, each having near its end acontinuous vertical opening in the ball, web and base, such openings inthe two rails communicating through the ends thereof, a bridge-pieceoccupying such joint opening, fish-plates passing across thebridge-piece on opposite'sides of the rails and secured to the rails,said bridge-piece having shoulders engaging the upper and lower edges ofsaid fish-plates, substantially as described.

4. The combination of a pair of rails, each perforated near its end by acylindrical opening intercepted by the end of the rail whereby the twoopenings communicate and present ajoint opening of the contour of afigure 8, and a bridge-piece of similar contour occupying said openingand having its upper end flush with the upper surface of the rails,substantially as described.

5. The combination of a pair of rails, each perforated near its end bycylindrical opening intercepted by the end of the rail whereby the twoopenings communicate and present a joint opening of the contour of afigure 8, and a bridge-piece of similar .contour occupying said openingand having its upper end Hush with the upper surface of the rails, therounded portions of said bridge-piece being partially oblate cylinderswhereby they engage with moderate snugness the side portions of the8-shaped opening, but clear the end portions and intermediateprojections thereof, substantially as described.

6. The combination,with a pairof rails, each having its web portion cutaway near the end and having through the ball an opening wider than thethickness of the web portion, said opening communicating with the spaceat the end of the rail, and a bridge-piece adapted to seat in theopenings in the two rails and having a reduced web portion adapted toaline with the webs of the rails, and fish-plates secured to the webs ofthe rails adapted to support said bridge-piece, substantially asdescribed.

7. The combination of a pair of rails, each having its web cut away nearthe end and having above and below such cut-away portion an opening inthe ball and base wider than the web and communicating with the spacebeyond the end of the rail, said opening being partially cylindrical, abridge-piece composed of a flattened central portion and bosses aboveand below it, and fish-plates on opposite sides of the rails lyingbetween the upper and lower bosses on the bridge-piece, substantially asdescribed.

8. The combination of a pair of rails, each having its web cut away nearthe end and having above and below such cut-away portion an opening inthe ball and base wider than the web and communicating with the spacebeyond the end of the rail, said opening being partially cylindrical andthe vertical wall of the web between them being also apartly-eylindrical curve, a bridge-piece composed of a flattened centralportion and approximately cylindrical bosses above and below it, theends of the bridge-piece being curved whereby the bridge-piece may moreor less snugly occupy the joint opening provided by the two ails, andfish-plates on opposite sides of the rails lying between the upper andlower bosses on the bridge-piece and preventing its movement up or down,substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I hereunto afliX my signature in the presence oftwo witnesses.

' ELMER E. BALDWIN.

Witnesses:

C. WV. AIPLEBY, G. J. McMILLAN.

